[Mpls] New Stadium Bill Proposes 50-50 Profit Split

[Gary Hoover]

David G. scribed:
>>>>>
I have read at least three or four times about how you feel the
stadium takes away funding for health care and other critical
services. <<<<<
Gary H. here:
Any "myth of scarcity" is a red herring related to the stadium tax issue.

1.  Raising a new tax for a new stadium is immoral when we do not first
address basic needs.  Raising a new tax for a new stadium is very much like
a parent buying a yacht when the children's educational, housing, health
care, and nutritional needs are not met.

2.  Just as every household has a budget, so does local and state
government. Worse than spending the family milk money on a luxury, we are
borrowing money to buy a luxury while we refuse to "pay as we
go" or even borrow money for necessities.

3.  Raising a new and regressive tax to pay for a new stadium is like... a 
large and dysfunctional family with lots of money sloshing
around refusing to meet the needs of children, elders, and vulnerable family 
members.

Household members struggling most are made to submit to being deprived of 
essentials, and are also seduced or coerced to take out a new loan to 
purchase an entertainment center for the household.   Meanwhile, household 
members with abundant wealth hide it away to avoid paying their share of 
household expenses.

David G. writes:
>>>>>
Our country has the wealth
to do pretty much whatever we want.  Ditto the state.
<<<<<
Yes.  I agree.  This is the most frightening and important aspect of this 
discussion.

Our economic model is "wreck it and run."

Corporate CEOs wreck companies but bail out with golden parachutes while 
workers lose pensions.

Politicians use one office to catapult themselves into higher office or 
cushy private sector jobs while hiding the truth that  local, state, and 
national governments borrow us into bankruptcy.

We choose to focus spending on planetary military plunder, an expanding 
private prison industry, and entertainment to keep ourselves from thinking 
about who we are or the consequences of our actions.

We deplete  resources and destroy our rich habitat for temporary excess for 
a few.  We know full well this means long-term poverty for all.  We can do 
great things if we want to.  Doing great things would mean using tax dollars 
for renewable energy, sustainable transportation, and local farm-to-market 
projects.  This would do far more for our economy and environment than a new 
stadium.

David G. scribes:
>>>>>
...legislative gridlock.  Everyone is working under the assumption we can't 
raise taxes because no
one has any money and we've got to choose some services over others.  This 
is the big lie.
<<<<<

Gary H responds:
I believe we can and must raise taxes progressively.  Our governor, 
legislature, some Hennepin county board members, and the Mayor are 
participating in "the big lie" all by themselves....or rather with plenty of 
help and coercion from the deep pockets of the Twins and their owners.

How ironic that the Strib early on warned that a referendum would be 
dangerous because voters might be persuaded to vote against the new tax for 
a stadium by people with "deep pockets" running persuasive PR programs 
opposed to this new, regressive tax.

Do our local political leaders dare to challenge those with deep pockets who 
want only regressive taxation to subsidize already wealthy corporations and 
individuals while neglecting fundamental economic and social 
responsibilities?  I've heard not a peep from political "leaders" to 
indicate any such challenge.

David G. also wrote:
>>>>
Until we are willing to use _our_ form of government, to shape
things according to _our_ values and vision by using the political
structures that already exist, we will lose. <<<<<

Gary H. replies:
The institutions of our culture are far too resistant to change to make 
meaningful political conversation possible.  Local government officials end 
up as commissars for the political arm of the status quo.  Our local 
political agenda is that of the "real world" of billionaires and 
millionaires who have followed the model of "wreck it and run" when it comes 
to public transit in our area, and who continue to follow such a model in 
relation to our city and its bioregion. Culture change precedes political 
change.  However, who can see the outcomes of various forms of political and 
cultural activism?

-- pedaling for peace and ecojustice from Lynnhurst -- Gary Hoover